Newcastle United's pre-season steps up a few gears with trips to Sheffield Wednesday and then a German tour

Alan Pardew has no choice but to show his hand for the first time since training began at the start of the month. The next three friendly games will feature, at some stage, all the first-team men who are now charged with taking the club forward.

Remy Cabella and Daryl Janmaat are reporting for duty this week and over the coming days will get to kick a football around with their new team-mates. The more familiar faces of Cheick Tiote, Moussa Sissoko and Tim Krul, given extra time off because of the World Cup, are expected back on Tyneside by the time the team arrives back from their New Zealand adventure.

It’s Sheffield Wednesday, appropriately on Wednesday, then the passports get brought out again when they head to Germany and Schalke’s Veltins-Arena. They play Malaga on Saturday and the hosts 24 hours later. Only injury will prevent everyone from getting their chance.

And while it remains to be seen how strong the team will be at Hillsborough – jet lag may be a factor and Pardew is hardly going to risk anyone’s fitness in such a run-out – the next seven days will tell us quite a bit. Certainly it will tell us a lot more than what anyone can learn from the matches against, with all due respect, fairly weak opposition in New Zealand.

So what should we be looking for over these trio of very different games? Well, Pardew has been working a lot on shape since the players reported back from their holidays.

The only shape so far that we on the outside know that has been decided upon is Hatem Ben Arfa’s. Apparently it’s too big.

So is it going to be a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, the latter being the most likely with Siem de Jong in the key number ten role.

Where is Cabella going to play? Is Emmanuel Riviere capable of leading the line? Is Moussa Sissoko going to be taken off the right wing? And who is going to start the season at left-back given Davide Santon is struggling to make the Manchester City game?

Some of these question will almost certainly be answered over the next seven days.

What can be said with some certainty from where we stand right now is that Pardew will enter the season with a strong team, a squad that could be called good if not great. A couple more signings would move it in the right direction.

Where he puts everyone and who he leaves out will be intriguing. Too often last season the manager was forced or chose to put players in their wrong position. It was square pegs, round holes and all that.

With six new signings at least – and it really should be more – he has competition all over the park, at least in theory. The games in Germany are going to be when we get our first proper glimpse of Pardew’s vision.

Last season’s best times came when Yohan Cabaye played in the hole between midfield and Loic Remy – and for a few months Newcastle were untouchable. And while this worked, it’s worth pointing out that Pardew had little option but to change things around because there weren’t too many others who could do what Cabaye did.

In truth, I think everyone is waiting to see if those boots can be filled by any of the new boys.

If Newcastle can go to Germany, score a few goals and win both games – and by that time results become more important if far from vital – then the supporters will allow themselves a glow of excited anticipation.

Pardew has promised us attacking football and not a system that goes out to defend and try to nick a 1-0 win. If that is the case the manager is obviously coming to terms with the fact that’s how many Newcastle fans perceive him.

Something else that has to be addressed, and we’ll get our first opportunity this weekend to see what work has been done, is improving the execution of corners and free-kicks.

Good teams threaten from set-pieces – if not every time then at least some of the time. That has been a problem for a number of years, although Cabaye scored and set up a few when he was still about. It would be encouraging to see De Jong or Cabella strike a good free-kick on target if the opportunity arises.

Sunday, August 17 – when the not insignificant threat of Manchester City rolls into town – is only three weeks away. There is still time to get things right but the clock is ticking. Guessing the first XI between now and then will be fun, if not entirely accurate because we expect new faces in before then.

However, by the time the game against Schalke 04 ends next Sunday the manner and style in which Newcastle United will face the challenges ahead of them will become clearer. It’s going to be interesting.

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